1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to self-service checkout systems for retail businesses and, more particularly, to a self-service checkout system configured to have a small to zero footprint.
2. Background Information
Many general merchandise stores and an increasing number of retail grocery, supermarket, or food stores utilize self-service checkout or self checkout systems typically in addition to regular assisted checkouts. These self-checkout systems allow a customer to perform purchase transactions or checkout transactions without the assistance of a clerk or other store personnel. While such self-checkout systems are generally efficient, such self-checkout systems take up a lot of floor space.
With typical grocery stores, retail stores, and superstores, there is typically plenty of floor space for checkout. However, in retail stores such as drugstores and the like, there is typically minimal floor space. Such minimal floor space thus makes the available floor space at a premium. Such places where floor space is at a minimum (or at a premium) cannot justify a conventional self-checkout with a large footprint.
It would thus be advantageous to have a fully functional self-checkout that alleviates the size problems of the past.
What is therefore needed is a self-service checkout system that overcomes one or more of the above-mentioned drawbacks. What is particularly needed is a self-service checkout system that can be used in minimum space applications.
What is more particularly needed is a self-checkout system or terminal that has a small to zero footprint.